Three Reasons Why 3 Reasons Why Your Mental Health Services NHS Is Broken (And How To Repair It)
Three Reasons Why 3 Reasons Why Your Mental Health Services NHS Is Broken (And How To Repair It)
Blog Article
Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a massive rise in people seeking help for mental health issues and the NHS has responded by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made a renewed commitment to grow investment in mental health services more quickly than the NHS budget overall. This includes specialist suicide prevention work.
Getting help
One in four of us will suffer from mental health issues at some time in our lives. The good news is that there are a variety of ways to seek assistance, and the majority of us will improve with time. It's important to understand the types of help available and who can offer it.
You can seek assistance from a variety of places, including your doctor (primary medical doctor who treats patients) or your local health centre, or a community mental health team. These teams are comprised of nurses, occupational therapists psychotherapists, psychotherapists, and speech and language therapists who work with the people who utilize the service. You can receive individual or group therapy depending on the kind of help you need.
Your GP will typically request you to fill out the form to send you a referral to a local mental health team. They will also ask what you require in terms of support. Then, you will be viewed by a member of a mental health team, which could include a psychiatrist, social worker or psychologist. In some instances the assessment and treatment will be conducted by a specialist in clinical nursing. You can contact the NHS 111 helpline if you are in crisis. If you're already supported by mental health services it's a good idea to contact your regular team first, unless it's outside of normal hours, on a weekend or on a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health set out plans to establish more place-based, multidisciplinary community mental health teams that have links to primary care networks. These teams will enhance the quality of mental health care delivered to people experiencing a crisis, and offer support to them in their homes and community instead of in hospitals.
The plan also aimed to provide crisis services to more people by reducing waiting times and allowing more beds. It would also include an ambulance for mental health and ensure that all ambulances are outfitted with a mental liaison nurse in the control room to make sure that patients who are suffering from mental illness are assisted in emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for mental health issues. GPs typically have the ability to treat milder conditions, but more severe issues will require the assistance of a specialist team. These teams are spread across community and primary mental health services as well as the psychiatric hospitals. There are also safe places where you can seek assistance when you're in a crisis.
Talking treatments for anxiety and depression are among the main kinds of treatment. Formerly known as IAPT the programs have seen referral numbers increase every year since their introduction in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to expanding these programs so that 1.9 million people can access them in 2023/2024.
Psychiatric medicines are another important part of treatment. They can help alleviate symptoms by altering the way the brain's chemicals work. They can also be used to ease side effects of other treatments. Your doctor will prescribe the right medication for you.
A wide variety of talking therapy options are offered including group therapy and individual therapy. Some of these therapies can be delivered in-person, while others are available online. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but that is a personal preference. Mind is one of many organizations that offer support groups and courses. Their website is full of information that is reliable, however you should be aware of the fact that there's plenty of misleading or false information available on the internet regarding mental health issues.
While the NHS is working to improve its mental health services however, it is still struggling to keep up with demand. There are 54 mental health trusts in the UK and the majority of are funded by clinical commissioning groups to deliver their service. They are usually located in a specific area however, they may be commissioned to offer national services.
The shortage of resources is a major issue. There are concerns about the quality and availability of psychiatrists and nurses. The NHS is working to improve these services by offering more training and introducing new ways of working. It also introduces more efficient and safer methods to treat people in crisis like mobile crisis teams, as well as safe places.
Helping you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago there have been a lot of positive developments for those suffering from mental health issues. The options for treatment have grown and social barriers have been smashed down. However, there is still much to be done.
Patients who are experiencing mental health problems must be able to access the assistance they require quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is striving to improve the quality of services for those who require them. By 2020/21 we will ensure that all acute hospitals have a mental-health liaison service, both in A&E as well as on wards for patients, and that 70% will meet the core 24 standard by 2023/24. We will then strive for 100 percent coverage.
We will also expand services for the community, such as talking therapy, in order to provide support for hundreds of thousands of people suffering from mental health problems, whether they are severe or common. We will continue to work on the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme so that more people can be visited by therapists who are qualified, quicker.
The NHS offers free, confidential helplines for anyone struggling with a mental health issue. Samaritans Mind and Rethink are some of the helplines that are available. These helplines are run by trained volunteers. They offer a safe space to talk or give guidance and information on how to manage your mental health issues.
In addition, there are a number of local organisations which can offer support and guidance for those with mental health issues. Self-help guides, coping strategies and other activities are all possible. Many of these organisations offer face-toface support groups to those who prefer it.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students who are experiencing stress or depression. Nightline is a student counselling service that provides confidential listening, support and information from experienced volunteers. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support both online and in local groups. They can offer a range of activities and courses ranging from mindfulness to art classes, which can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Making a referral
With mental health services under pressure, doctors are forced to make difficult decisions about the services they will refer patients to. The doctor will take the patient's medical history into account and then refer them to a service they believe will be able to help. They might send a referral to an NHS trust or an independent service.
A mental health professional will then evaluate the referral and decide whether it's appropriate or not. If the mental health assessment specialist isn't pleased with the referral they will contact the GP to discuss their decision and provide the reason. They might also ask the GP to modify the click here referral or ask for more information.
The referral to a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) can be made through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system lets doctors and other healthcare professionals direct patients to a preliminary clinical assessment service for mental health or directly to an appointment. However there are some exceptions. CMHTs offer both options and the system can't be used for every kind of mental health referral.
A doctor may also refer a patient to a mental health specialist in the community read more service (CMT). These are usually operated by a large local healthcare organization or hospital. read more CMTs are an excellent option for those who require to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist, but do not require inpatient care. They also provide an early intervention program where psychiatrists collaborate with therapy therapist to assist a person overcome a crisis or improve the quality of their lives.
One of the biggest challenges faced by a CMT is how to ensure that all suitable referrals are made within the proper time frame. One of the issues is that many referrals are deemed urgent, even though they may not be. This can result in delays and over-working for those who are not in crisis.
To combat this problem, a few CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform standards for what constitutes an urgent referral. This was achieved by using an established form that asks the referrer if the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer can tick to indicate if the request mental health assessment is urgent.